Truth & Temptation by Riley Edgewood

Title: Truth & Temptation (Summer Love Series #3)

Author: Riley Edgewood

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: July 23, 2015

Source: ARC from Author

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Kobo

She’s a liar. He knows the truth.

Teagan Walker gets around. Ask anyone—hell, ask her. She’ll own it with a smile. But beneath that smile is a girl whose parents didn’t want her. Whose grandparents raised her without affection. Whose struggle with a burning anger threatens to consume her, though she’d rather punch someone in the face than talk about it. With a new job looming, she’s determined to work her way into a better life. When she meets the sexiest guy she’s ever seen, she decides to kick it off with a bang. And she makes her move.

But he’s got moves of his own, and before the night is out, he strips her of way more than she means to reveal—without removing a single piece of clothing. That comes, too, of course. He’s gotten under skin like nobody before him, and what’s the harm in one night with a sexy stranger? Exposed or not, she never has to see him again.

Except she does.

On Monday morning, they come face-to-face. He’s the son of her new CEO—and he threatens to bring her entire world crashing down, making her face every lie she’s ever told.

There are some stories it feels like I’ve waited such a long time to read, even when in reality, it hasn’t actually been that long. That was the case with Teagan’s story in Riley Edgewood’s Truth & Temptation. And after the wait, this story totally delivered.

Teagan has a reputation. Everyone will tell you so, herself included. But just because she has a reputation and she’s not afraid to admit it doesn’t mean that she’s happy with who she is. In fact, Teagan hates how angry she gets, how big of a bitch she can be even when she doesn’t mean to. But she’s determined to do better, especially now that she’s starting a new job. Out celebrating with her friends, Teagan meets the sexiest guy she’s ever seen and decides to just go for it. But the night doesn’t go quite as planned when Teagan starts to spill all her secrets. But it’s okay, it’s not like Teagan is ever going to see him again. Until she walks in to her new job on Monday morning and comes face-to-face with her new boss. Who just happens to be the guy from a few nights earlier. And he’s ready to call her out on everything she told him.

It feels like I had been waiting for Truth & Temptation, or at least Teagan’s story, since I first met her right at the beginning of Riley Edgewood’s debut, Rock & Release. I knew that she had her own story to tell and I couldn’t wait to read it. So to say I was excited about Truth & Temptation would be a bit of an understatement. I was so freaking excited to read this book, and just like with Riley Edgewood’s previous books, it was so completely addicting. I got sucked into the story, wanting to see where the night would take Teagan and her mysterious sexy man. And once that night was over, I wanted to know everything that happened, everything that Teagan had told Alec. And of course, I wanted to see everything that would come after that. Because if nothing else, I have come to expect from pretty fantastic romance from Riley Edgewood. Needless to say that Truth & Temptation delivered on the romance front. Just like it delivered when it comes to emotional punches. Because there were plenty of those too thanks to Teagan.

I knew from the moment I met her two book ago that Teagan had a lot going on. It was clear that she was dealing with a lot of stuff, and I wanted to know what it all was, especially since it kept being alluded to by Teagan herself and by her best friend. Getting to read her story, I now know that there was so much more to Teagan than I ever thought. And so much of it hit a chord with me, because half of it I could relate to and the other half I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Tegan just deserved something good in her life, more than I can even possibly begin to explain. So Teagan completely broke my heart more than once, and so many times I just wanted to give her a hug. And cue Alec. Alec wasn’t who I expected. Kind of like Teagan, I made certain assumptions about him that turned out to be completely wrong. Alec was a good guy, plain and simple. But he was also so much more than that.  Like Teagan, he had his own set of issues he needed to deal with. And while dealing with those, he was the perfect person for Teagan. He was the person who finally showed her that she was worthy and that she wasn’t doomed to become her mother. He loved her and he wanted her and that’s really all Teagan was asking for. So Alec Chambers was pretty freaking incredible. And I may love him.  And I would also like to take this moment to lay claim to Alec Chambers. Because reasons.

Riley Edgewood’s Truth & Temptation was so much more than the story I had hoped it would be. More than being a story about romance, it was a story about finding yourself and accepting yourself for who you are, regardless of who that is or where you come from. And that’s a pretty damn important message.

Surf & Surrender by Riley Edgewood

Title: Surf & Surrender (Summer Love Series #2)

Author: Riley Edgewood

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: February 23, 2015

Source: ARC from Author

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Kobo

She wants to forget he ever existed. He’d never give up her memory.

Quinn Westwood is completely over Sawyer Carson. He broke her heart years ago and disappeared from her life without a word. So yeah. She’s over him. Never even thinks of him. In fact, she’s spending her college summer break surfing and lifeguarding in the Outer Banks, while nursing a bruised heart from a different relationship gone wrong. She doesn’t have room in her mind or heart for Sawyer—until she runs into him at a beach bonfire and the sparks that fly between them are way hotter than the flames heating the sand.

Sawyer never got over Quinn. The only thing stronger than what he feels for her is the secret keeping them apart, but sharing it would estrous more than just his life—it’d ruin hers, as well. Still, he can’t seem to keep away form her, can’t seem to keep his hands off of her soft, tempting skin. Especially since she has even less self-control when it comes to reigniting the physical side of what made them perfect together.

But secrets have a way of slipping out, and when Sawyer’s is revealed it threatens to shatter everyone involved. He’ll have to face walking away a second time, and Quinn will have to decide if fighting for him is worth it when the fallout could affect more than just her heart, but also those of the people she loves most. 

Late last year, I read Riley Edgewood’s three-part debut Rock & Release and I absolutely loved it. I was so excited to hear that the next book in her New Adult series would be coming out soon after and I was even more excited to be reading it. Needless to say that I liked Surf & Surrender even more than I did the first book.

Quinn has spent the past four year getting over Sawyer Carson. It’s not like she’s had much of a choice. He was there one day and gone the next with no explanation and no matter what Quinn did she couldn’t find a way to get in touch with him. So now she’s over him. Finally ready to move on. And Quinn would definitely be over Sawyer if she hadn’t run in to him a bonfire, reigniting all those old feelings she thought she’d gotten rid of. Sawyer hasn’t been able to move on from Quinn. The time and distance away from her have done nothing but make his feelings stronger. Now that he’s back in town, he wants nothing more than to be with her, but he knows that he can’t. No matter what, Sawyer has to stay away from Quinn. He just doesn’t know if he has the self-control to stay away. And that would be fine, except Quinn has even less self-control. Both Quinn and Sawyer have their secrets and those secrets might tear them apart a second time. 

Guys, Surf & Surrender was addicting. Like read it in day, addicting. And I say that because that’s totally what I did and I don’t regret it. I couldn’t help it though. Every time I told myself I would stop after just one more chapter, I couldn’t do it. And then the next thing I knew an hour had gone by and I was still reading, still telling myself that I would stop after one more chapter. And so the cycle went, until I had read the entire book. But other than being addicting, this story was GOOD. I loved reading about summer in the Outer Banks (I might have also started planning a hypothetical vacation there while reading…) and seeing how everyone was connected. And of course the romance did not disappoint me. Right from the start there is tension and chemistry between Sawyer and Quinn and it just leaps off the page. And thanks to Riley Edgewood I will never look at a surf shop in the same way. Ever. Who knew they could be that sexy? Though that might have had more to do with Sawyer and Quinn.

What I loved about Quinn and Sawyer was that they had a history before this story started. It made reading about them all the more interesting. I wanted to know more about their past, about what happened that brought them to where they are today. And they had some pretty awesome chemistry, no matter how hard they tried to fight it. Did I mention a certain surf shop scene? Because that’s only the beginning of it. And as much as I loved Sawyer and Quinn together, I liked them on their own too. They were both trying to make the best of the situation they were in. I wanted so much for them to get that they wanted, and for them to catch a break. Especially Sawyer. Because I may have developed a soft spot for Sawyer. Beyond just Sawyer and Quinn, Surf & Surrender also had some fantastic secondary characters. I would love to read more about Sawyer’s family, especially his brother because he seems to have so much going on and I want more of him, especially if it meant I got more of Sawyer in the process. And I’m crossing my fingers for a story about Gianna, Quinn’s best friend, because I would read that and I’m pretty sure I would love it.

Surf & Surrender was a great follow up to Rock & Release. The story had just the right mix of sexy, drama and heart. I can’t wait to read whatever comes next from Riley Edgewood.

Rock & Release by Riley Edgewood

Title: Rock & Release (Summer Love Series #1)

Author: Riley Edgewood

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: January 2, 2015 (Previously released as 3-part serial)

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Kobo

Formerly release as a serial, Rock & Release contains all three acts (VIP, Starstruck, & Show Stopper) together in one seamless novel.

Cassidy Evans is looking for an escape over her college summer break. And when one night with a few too many martinis leads her to sexy guitarist, Gage Logan, she may have found exactly what she needs. 

He’s sweet and kind, and in the bedroom he’s enough to make Cassidy forget her own name. Multiple times. But as her heart opens to Gage, feelings she’s been trying to avoid slip through, too. Regret over her rocky relationship with her parents. Pain from her brother’s recent death. Guilt over a fallout with her best friend…As much as she craves Gage, she can’t unlock her heart the way he deserves.

Enter Luca James, international rock star and lead singer of Gold Rush Standard. Cassidy can’t stand his music. She can’t stand his arrogance. And, when he sets his sights on more than the drinks she serves him, she especially can’t stand how she’s drawn to his no-strings-attached flirting.

Soon Cassidy will have to make a choice: ignore her heart and go after the carefree life she covets, or stand strong to face a bittersweet reality. 

Either way, she risks losing everything she truly wants.

You’ve probably heard me say before that I am often hesitant to read self-published books, but every so often I make exceptions. With Rock & Release, I made an exception because I know the author, Riley Edgewood (well I do on Twitter, but you get my point). And believe me when I say that it was absolutely and completely worth the exception. I loved every single moment of this sexy new adult story.

When she came home, Cassidy Evans thought she knew what her summer was going to be like. But after a night spent in the VIP area of a bar drinking a few too many martinis,  her plans seem to be changing. Before long, Cassidy finds herself being offered a job tending bar instead of the business internship she had planned. And then there’s Gage Logan, the sexy guitarist Cassidy meets at BackBar, who seems to be just the escape she’s looking for. And there’s a lot Cassidy is looking to escape. But the more time she spends with Gage, the more she finds herself wanting more than just a fling. Except Cassidy can’t find a way to open herself up to Gage the way he has to her. Instead, Cassidy lets herself be drawn to arrogant rock star Luca James and his offer of no-strings-attached fun. Before long, Cassidy finds herself torn between a carefree life and the possible for a real relationship. She just has to choose what she really wants.

So. Rock & Release. It was initially released as a three-part serial and that’s how I read it. Which would have been fine had all three parts been released when I started reading it. But no. When I read it, only the first two were out and by the time I got to the end of the second part, I was pretty much begging for the third part. I just had to know how the story ended, what, and more importantly who, Cassidy would choose. Simply put, Riley Edgewood just wrote an addicting story. And again, like I’ve said, the fact that it was told in three parts just made it that much more addicting. Or at least it did to me. And that’s because the story itself was just great. I loved reading about Cassidy and everyone working and coming and going at BackBar. I loved reading about the romance between Cassidy and Gage and between Cassidy and Luca. And of course it didn’t hurt that the romance in these books was just HOT and engrossing. Let’s just say that there’s a whole lot of sexy in this book and this story and I loved every bit of it.

Cassidy is very much a character you can relate to. Well, I could definitely relate to her. It’s the summer before her last year of college (I think I’m remembering this correctly) and she’s not really sure about what she wants to do once she finishes school. And on top of that, she’s dealing with having lost her brothers less than a year earlier and how that’s affected her family. Needless to say that Cassidy has a lot going out and I can understand why she would want to find a way to escape all that for the summer. In way though, in wanting to escape her life, she was able to find herself and better understand what she wanted. Or at least she did by the end of the story. And that meant spending time with Gage and Luca. Much like Cassidy, I feel for Gage right away, I was just willing to admit it to myself. And that’s because Gage was an absolutely fantastic guy. I loved him and how caring he was and everything he was willing to do for Cassidy. So I did get annoyed with Cassidy when she wanted to throw it all away. For Luca of all people. Don’t get me wrong, Luca isn’t inherently bad or anything. I just didn’t take to him the way I did to Gage. There were moments where I would start really liking him, but then something always seemed kind of off with him. And he was just way too arrogant for my liking. But he was necessary to this story. Cassidy needed him in order to figure out what she really wanted. So for that, I liked him, because he got Cassidy to where I would really hope she would go.

So yeah, I really loved reading Riley Edgewood’s Rock & Release. It was a sexy, thoughtful new adult read that was addicting to read. If you’re looking for a good and sexy NA to read, I can’t recommend this one enough. And lucky for you, the whole story is available in one book now. So go get it, you won’t regret it.